Texas Birding

THIS POST WAS WRITTEN BY SARA WITTENBERG RESS BASED ON A JOINT TRIP

The anticipation of what I was about to view nearly trumped the sighting itself.  Our guide informed Dad and I that the property potentially had the only Masked Ducks in the U.S. at the current time- what luck for us!  I turned the focus knob, bringing the small stiff-tailed duck, still in winter plumage, into view.  There it was!  The bird was transported before me with the aid of the spotting scope, allowing me to share in a moment of its existence.  We had booked a half-day private birding trip on the King Ranch in Kingsville, Texas, and our exceptional guide assisted us in racking up 81 species in four hours, including many south Texas specialties.  It was a superb end to a productive birding adventure along the central coast of Texas.  With a map of the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail in hand, we set out on a balmy mid-March day with the intent of covering much of the Corpus Christi, Mustang Island and Aransas loop stops, throwing in Aransas National Wildlife Refuge and King Ranch as must-dos before our week expired and our jobs in Alabama and Arkansas called us back home.

            Much of our journey took us along the beaches of the Gulf of Mexico, so aside from great birds the views were quite enjoyable as well.  There were some highlights of our week- two virtual bird paradises warrant mention, as they both took us by surprise.  Just on the outskirts of Corpus Christi is Indian Point Park, a “salt flat” harboring great diversity- peeps of all shapes and sizes, Reddish Egrets dancing to apparently no one, Black-Necked Stilts beginning to pair up for spring nesting, and American Avocets so unconcerned with our presence that we could photograph them feet from our vehicle.  The Port Aransas Birding Center is a hidden gem- a wetland area behind a sewage treatment plant that’s a figurative “sea of birds”, creating a mosaic of colors dominated by pink splashes of Roseate Spoonbills by the hundreds.  All three species of teal intermingled with Northern Shovelers and Mottled Ducks to round out the waterfowl present.  Avocets and Stilts abounded, nearly every species of herons and egrets found in Texas were foraging in the wetland, and shorebirds further challenged our identification skills.  We spent one night camping on Padre Island National Seashore at the south end of Mustang Island, and were fortunate to stumble upon a bird walk led by two resident park volunteers (though the walk was a misnomer as they shuttled us all over the park for 3.5 hours in a 15-passenger van).  They tried to surprise us with a nest-cam set up on a clutch of nestling Barn Owls, but in the two days since they’d checked it the chicks had fledged- no luck.  We did get a great look, however, of the resident Peregrine Falcon (and several other raptor species).  Goose Island State Park at the north end of Mustang Island boasts the World Record Life Oak (though its exact age is unclear as discrepancies in sources listed is as either over 1000 or over 2000 years old).  Nonetheless, that was one impressive tree!

            We devoted one day to the famed Aransas NWR, viewing it first from afar (from a boat), and then by driving through the refuge.  A morning trip aboard The Skimmer yielded nine Whopping Cranes, a species whose name preceeds them and which neither of us had ever seen.  We got amazing looks at them, spending approximately one hour watching a pair forage very near to our boat.  Ultimately we ended up with 132 species of birds and a smattering of mammals and reptiles, with gators being the prominent species.

            No birder, experienced or novice, could be left wanting after a trip to the Texas coast.  The birding trail has been broken up into three segments- upper, central, and lower- and once could spend days on any given area.  The farther south you go, the more Central American species you are likely to encounter.  Depending on what your goal may be (and how much time you have to spare!), one can tailor their trip to suit their preferences.  Be warned though- don’t try to do too much in too little time!  Make sure to incorporate some coastal and inland birding no matter what area you visit to ensure a diverse array of species, and be prepared to be amazed!